Now Playing on the Pixel is my favorite example of ambient computing that we have right now. Dating back to the Pixel 2 and 2 XL in 2017, it shows what song is playing on the always-on display, lockscreen and notification shade without requiring you to do anything. It’s “better than instant.”
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“Now Playing” made its debut on Google’s second Pixel series and, in the time since, has continued to be one of many features that add a bit of delight and utility to Google’s software. Now, Google is working on expanding “Now Playing” on Pixel to include a new “Summary” page that breaks down songs you’ve heard.
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Now Playing is one of the Pixel’s best features. It uses the same technology as “Hey Google” hotword detection to recognize music around you without you needing to do anything. Since the Pixel 2, this feature has been Pixel exclusive, and no other phone manufacturer has released any competitor or alternative. But, developer Kieron Quinn managed to port Now Playing to any un-rooted Android 12+ phone using his app Ambient Music Mod.
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Pixel phones on Android 12 are gaining the ability to enhance “Now Playing” song recognition with a one-tap cloud search feature.
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The Pixel’s Now Playing feature is powered by Android System Intelligence (previously called Device Personal Services). An update for Pixel phones running Android 12 will introduce an interface redesign for Now Playing, as well as the ability to send unrecognized songs to the cloud.
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One of the handiest features of Google Pixel phones is “Now Playing,” its ability to listen to music playing around you and identify songs without you needing to ask first. Now, it looks like Google is working on a way to export your Now Playing history.
The Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL introduced a bevy of new features built upon functionality first announced on the Pixel 2. Many — like the Camera app — are coming to last year’s devices, including the very useful history for Now Playing.
With the Pixel 2, Google introduced a very impressive Now Playing feature that uses on-device neural networks to always recognize what’s playing in the background. Google is now improving Assistant’s and the Google app’s native Sound Search feature with the same underlying technology.
